Alloyed with nickel, iron and others to make Alnico, a metal used in jet turbines.
Used to make highly magnetic steels and stainless steels.
Used in electroplating because of its hardness and resistance to oxidation.
Used for the production of blue colors in porcelain, glass, pottery, tiles, and enamels.
Cobalt-60: important cancer treatment agent, but also used for sterilizing medical supplies, medical waste and foods, as well as for radiography and density measurements.
Compounded to make paint pigments.
The compound cobalt(II) chloride, CoCl2, is used as a water indicator because normally it is blue, but when water is added to make CoCl2·6H2O, it turns a deep rose color.
Another compound, cobalt sulfate (CoSO4) is used in batteries and as a drying agent in paints and varnishes.
Cobalt(II) chloride turns red when exposed to water.
Dangers & Precautions
High exposure can have mutagenic and carcinogenic effects.
High exposure to gamma ray emissions from Co-60 can cause burns and even death.
Cobalt in powdered form is a dangerous fire hazard.
Nuclear weapon designs could intentionally incorporate 59Co, some of which would be activated in a nuclear explosion to produce 60Co. The 60Co, dispersed as nuclear fallout, creates what is sometimes called a dirty bomb or cobalt bomb, once predicted by physicist Leó Szilárd as being capable of wiping out all life on earth. - Wikipedia
Cobalt - Uses
Dangers & Precautions